


Confident

by OlicityandKlaroline



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 16:03:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10390491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlicityandKlaroline/pseuds/OlicityandKlaroline
Summary: Curvy Felicity goes to Verdant all the time. Little did she know that her old high-school crush, Oliver Queen, owns her favorite club. What happens when they see each other again after so many years?





	

Felicity sighed satisfaction as she slid into the comfortable chair at the end of the bar. She had been coming to Verdant frequently for almost a year. Not only did they have an incredible selection of wines, they had some of the best food she had ever tasted. And it was even better since she was friends with both the bartender and the head chef.

Roy and Diggle had met her on a Wednesday night when she had come to the bar from her table. She had been stood up by a blind date after her one and only attempt at creating an online dating profile to at least meet someone in Starling City. She had deleted her account the next day. While Felicity was sitting in her uncomfortable heels and her eyes were beginning to hurt after wearing the uncomfortable contacts she never liked to put in, she struck up a conversation with the bartender and the chef who had come out to grab a drink of water. Ever since then, Roy always called her Blondie and Digg tried his new recipes on her. She would help him decide what new things to potentially add to the menu. Digg got free advice, and Felicity got free delicious food. Win win.  

Roy was speaking to a customer, but smiled in greeting when he saw her. She gave him a small wave, knowing he would get to her when he was finished. 

She wasn’t in any rush this evening.

As Felicity settled into her seat, she felt the tense muscles in her back and neck begin to loosen. After the long but productive day she had, a nice glass of red wine was the perfect thing to unwind with. 

Taking her hair out of the snug ponytail she had been wearing all day, Felicity shook out the blonde waves and rubbed her temples to red herself of her headache. Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

The clink of a glass being set down in front of her made her open her eyes. She smiled at Roy in gratitude.

“Here you go, Blondie.”

“Thank you, Roy. You made sure to pour me the good stuff?”

“Always.” Roy watched his friend take a sip of her wine, sighing in pleasure as the flavor hit her tongue. He waited until she put the glass down before he asked, “Long day today?”

“The longest. But I am celebrating today. I just single-handedly successfully completed the biggest deal of the year for Smoak Technologies. I think that deserves some good wine and some good food, don’t you?”

“Definitely. I’ll make sure to let Digg know tonight is a special night.” Roy grabbed his glass of water that he kept behind the counter for when he was thirsty and held it up to toast her. “Here’s to a good day today.”

Felicity smiled and held up her glass. “Cheers.” Their drinks clinked softly. Roy went to give in her food order and then served a few other customers who had come up to the bar. A few moments later, the chef came out with Felicity’s food. He set out a small tray of chocolate desserts and a Styrofoam container filled with the best lasagna in the city.

“Oh, thank you so much, Digg! This looks incredible!”

“You’re welcome. What’s the occasion this time?”

Felicity raised an eyebrow. “I need an excuse to come and see you and Roy?”

“Of course not, you know you’re always welcome here. But what are you celebrating?” 

“I just pulled off a major business deal and I am enjoying my success.”

Digg smiled at Felicity, glad for her. “Then congratulations. And enjoy your food.”

“Oh I will. Especially these little chocolate thingies,” Felicity said, eyeing the small confections. She paused, looking up him. “There’s no nuts in these, right?”

“Not a single nut to be found.”

“Mmmm. Perfect.” Felicity carefully picked one up and put it in her mouth. Here eyes immediately closed in bliss at the flavor that exploded on her tongue. “Oh my god, Digg,” she mumbled, her mouth full of chocolate, “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!”

“I’m glad you like them. I’m trying out a new recipe.”

“Well whatever it is, keep doing it. These are heavenly.”

“Then I will let you enjoy them while I get back to the kitchen.” He turned to Roy. “The boss will be stopping in a little later tonight.”

Roy’s pleasant expression fell a bit. “Will anyone be with him?”

“Not that I know of. He just said he was stopping in.”

Roy nodded. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Felicity watched as Diggle walked back into the kitchen, taking a bite of another chocolate. After appreciating the taste, she said, “You know, it is amazing how I’ve been coming here for months and still have yet to even see who owns this place. With how much time and money I spend here, I feel like I might be owed partial ownership. Or at the very least a reserved seat for whenever I come in.”

Roy chuckled and said, “Well fortunately Oliver doesn’t come in often while the place is open. He mostly does any necessary stuff in the middle of the day, when we’re getting things ready for the evening. 

He’s a great boss to work for, don’t get me wrong, but it’s extra pressure when the owner is looking over your shoulder.”

Felicity hummed in agreement, sipping her wine. “This Oliver seems to have trained you well, though. I certainly have never seen you make a mistake.”

Roy smiled at the compliment. “Thanks, Blondie. And luckily they pay me pretty well here or I wouldn’t care so much. Fortunately the Queens definitely have enough money to keep everyone well compensated.”

As Roy was talking, Felicity had popped the last chocolate into her mouth. However, hearing that name cross Roy’s lips caused her breath to catch, making her choke slightly.

Coughing, she gestured to Roy for water. He handed her a glass and she gulped it down, clearing her throat and taking a breath.

“You okay there?”

“Yup,” she rasped. “Went down the wrong pipe.” Felicity took another drink of water, then asked, “Oliver Queen owns Verdant?”

Roy nodded. “Yeah. Why, do you know him?”

That made Felicity pause. “…Kind of. I more knew of him. We went to high school together.”

“Really? So you knew Oliver Queen before he was the Oliver Queen? Do tell.”

Felicity laughed at Roy’s eager tone. “It wasn’t really like that. First of all, he went by ‘Ollie’ then. Second of all, he pretty much always had that unspoken ‘the’ before his name. He was popular, but in a good way. He was friends with everyone. But high school wasn’t really a good time for me… I don’t really like to talk about it. It was a part of my past, but I’ve moved on.”

Roy could tell that she wanted the topic left alone, so he nodded and went to serve a few other customers.

Felicity’s mind wandered as the memories came forth.

0o0o0

If Felicity could describe her teenage self in one word, it would be insecure. 

She was always a relatively quiet child, content to sit and read for a few hours or tinker with her science kits rather than run around screaming and knocking into things the way other kids did. However, her teenage years were not as nice.

In short, Felicity had been fat.

Or at least, she had certainly felt that way. An objective eye would have seen a teenage brunette with blue eyes and glasses; cute, definitely, but quiet. Even more so when puberty hit. Hard. 

Before she turned 13, Felicity was thin. Naturally delicate. However, the changes brought about by growing up also brought something else.

Curves. 

The first to grow were her breasts, increasing from an A to a D which prompted the immediate need for larger bras. The next was her waist and hips, so much so that she couldn’t get her jeans passed her knees. Felicity needed an entirely new wardrobe, from a size 2 to a 14.

And she had not been happy about it. 

On top of the insecurities of being a teenage girl, Felicity developed body image issues rather quickly. All the other girls still looked thin and pretty in their flowery dresses, and Felicity felt like she had ballooned into a female version of the Pillsbury dough boy. No matter what she tried, nothing was able to bring back that delicate frame she used to have. Unlike her mother, Felicity had yet to posses the self-confidence to love her body and herself. As a result, Felicity began to get baggier clothing in duller colors, nothing bright that would make her stand out. Before long, her fashion sense consisted of  
black, and more black. She even died her hair black.

By the time she was a junior in high school, Felicity was known throughout the student body as the quiet goth girl who kept to herself. There had been instances where her peers wanted to make fun of her for that, but her mother had taught her that no matter what, no one could push her around if she didn’t let them. 

That isn’t to say Felicity didn’t have a little fun with it. And it certainly helped that any and all bullying stopped when the senior who had been a jerk to her was suddenly kicked out of school when evidence of his attempt to cheat on is SATs was “anonymously submitted” to the school administration. 

No one bothered her after that. 

A few of the nicer students had tried to become friends with her, and she was always nice to them when they passed her in the halls, but sadly, Felicity just didn’t see the point in trying. Her mother did everything she could to help her daughter, but that was somewhat difficult with her working two jobs to pay for the home they lived in after Felicity’s father left.

She had resigned herself to being an outcast, at least socially, during high school. Her intelligence placed her miles ahead of her classmates, and she had already received confirmation of her early graduation and early admission with a full ride to M.I.T. Felicity just hoped that things would be different when she went to college.

There was one time, however, where Felicity had wished she was different. Prettier, skinnier, more confident.

When Oliver Queen transferred to her school. 

Almost immediately, he had become the most popular guy in school. Not just because of his name, not just because of his looks (boy was hot). But because he was such a genuinely nice guy. He made an effort to talk to everyone, from the Mathletes to the cheerleaders to the theater club to sports teams. 

He really was just that likeable. 

And Felicity harbored an enormous, completely secret crush on him. Much like most of the female, and some of the male, population of the school.

She had tried to fight it, really she did. 

But then the Library Incident happened.

Felicity was eating her lunch in the library, her laptop - that she built herself - open next to her, her own coding program running. She was trying to figure out why that last segment of code wasn’t lining up properly, until–

“Is this seat taken?”

Felicity looked up at the person who spoke, the red pen she was using to jot down a few notes still in her mouth. Her eyes widened slightly.

Oliver Queen just asked to sit with her.

“Uh…No, no it’s not taken.”

His answering smile made her brain go blank for a split second. he set his things down quietly, careful not to draw the attention of the librarian at the front desk.

“Hi,” he whispered. “I’m Oliver.”

“Felicity. Smoak.”

“Nice to meet you, Felicity. Do you mind if I sit here? I need a quiet place to try to finish my calculus homework before class.”

“I don’t mind at all.” She gestured to the open seat across from her as an invitation. He sat down and got to work, and for a little while they simply worked in companionable silence. 

Until he started tapping the eraser of his pencil against the table. 

She tried to tolerate it for a bit, thinking it was just a nervous tick of his or a way to occupy himself. But she couldn’t think with that sound constantly tap tap tapping. Suddenly, she reached out and placed  
her hand on top of the pencil, silencing the noise. Oliver looked up at her, surprised. When he realized what he had been doing, he smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry. I’m just getting really frustrated with this one problem. Normally I don’t have too much trouble with math, but this new unit is kicking my butt.”

Felicity bit her bottom lip in contemplation, wondering if she should offer to help him. She didn’t notice Oliver’s eyes wander down to her mouth and fixate on the bitten lip.

“Would you like some help? I’m pretty good at math.”

Felicity’s voice brought Oliver out of his wonderings about lips and biting.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks.”

Felicity put aside her coding for a moment and looked at the worksheet Oliver had. She looked at the work he had done and almost immediately figured out why his answer was incorrect. Flipping the paper back toward him, she leaned closer over the table to point to the mistake.

“Right here, instead of adding the 7, you’re supposed to multiply it by the value within the parentheses.”

Oliver tried it, going through the problem again. He got the right answer.

He looked up at Felicity, prepared to thank her for her help, when the words stuck in his throat. She had still been leaning toward him, and now their faces were quite close together. The two of them locked  
gazes, the blues of their eyes captivating each other. 

The shrill ring of the bell signaling the next period startled both of them. 

Oliver was the first one to speak. “Uh… Thank you. For your help, I mean.”

“Oh, of course. Glad I could,” she said absently.

Oliver quickly packed up his things. After saying goodbye, he rushed off to class.

Felicity watched him go, and wistfulness came over her. She totally had the crushies.

Maybe, in another life… something more could happen there. 

 

Everything changed when she went away to college. Being at M.I.T., around others who could keep up with her mind, challenged her. She looked forward to going to classes, actually learning things she didn’t already know. With her mind engaged, Felicity gradually found herself leading a social life. She started accepting when her classmates asked her to hang out with them. And when her friends Sara and  
Iris invited her to take a yoga class with them, she went. 

By the time Felicity graduated M.I.T., the black, shapeless clothing was gone. In their place was dresses and skirts and pants and tops and other clothing that fit her curvier yet toned physique. Those yoga classes had done wonders for her. 

Having friends, true friends, is what helped her the most. Felicity’s self-esteem grew, and it showed. 

As a graduation gift to her better self, she did one final thing.

She died her hair blonde.

0o0o0

Felicity was brought back to the present by the sound of a hand being slapped onto the bar. Blinking, she saw the admittedly very nice back of a man in a gray suit walking behind the bar and looking through the bottles of top-shelf vodka.

Roy was too far away helping a customer to intervene, so Felicity spoke.

“You know, the bartender is right over there. I’m sure your patience would be rewarded if you just waited for him to make you a drink instead of raiding the bar for the good stuff. That vodka ain’t cheap.”

The man stopped moving as she spoke, turning to face her. 

Blue eyes met blue eyes. Their gazes held.

Felicity’s immediately lit up in recognition. And appreciation. Oh, wow, Oliver Queen grew up even hotter. How is that possible?

Oliver narrowed his eyes, like he was trying to place her face from somewhere. “Wait a minute…I know you.”

Felicity looked at him with a slightly amused expression as he tried to think of why she looked so familiar. She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing, and Oliver zeroed in on the movement. His eyes lit up in recognition and… what looked like…joy.

“No way…” he whispered, his eyes meeting hers. That grin she remembered from high school slowly spread on his face. 

“Felicity? Felicity Smoak?”

Felicity blinked in surprise that he remembered her name. “Yeah, it’s me. Here. In the flesh. It’s good to see you again, Oliver.”

Oliver’s grin was wide enough to bring out his dimples. He had friggin dimples. 

He made his way over to her, walking back around the bar. Before she could get out of her seat to greet him, he wrapped her up in a snug, warm hug. Felicity hesitated, but wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“It is so good to see you, Felicity,” she heard Oliver mumble into her hair. They pulled back from each other, Oliver looking her up and down appreciatively. “You look absolutely incredible.”

“Thank you, Oliver. How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m really good. I like the blonde hair.”

Felicity smiled. “I like the stubble. You always had such a baby face in high school.”

Oliver chuckled, rubbing his hand over his chin. “Well we’ve both certainly grown from our teenage years. I seem to remember your affinity for all things black.”

“College gave me a chance to… expand my horizons. I went to M.I.T., made a lot of great friends, I’ve got a good job, and I feel great, so I definitely can’t complain. But how about you? Roy was telling me  
that you own Verdant! How did that happen?”

Oliver looked down slightly sheepishly. “Actually, it was a joint effort between me and my best friend Tommy. We met during Rush Week and just hit it off. Neither one of us could make up our minds about what the hell we wanted to do. Basically the only thing we did do in college was party. Which turns out can become a rather lucrative business if you do it right. We both got serious and made a plan, and opened up the doors almost three years ago. We have another location in Central City, and we’re looking at one in Coast City right now.”

Felicity looked at Oliver, seeing the grown man for the first time. “Wow, Oliver. That’s…that’s incredible. Congratulations. I have to say, I absolutely love coming to Verdant. Not only is the place gorgeous, but the food here is phenomenal. Digg always make the best pasta.”

Oliver grinned at the pride in Felicity’s tone, but a confused expression took over his face as he heard her talk about his staff like she knew them personally. 

“Have you been coming here for a while? Roy is usually pretty closed off with new people and Digg almost never comes out on the floor.”

“Yeah, I’ve been coming here pretty often for almost a year. It is so weird that in all that time, we’ve never crossed paths,” Felicity said, incredulous. If she had known that Oliver was the one who owned the club, she might have sought him out sooner.

“Or maybe the universe was telling us the timing wasn’t right,” Oliver stated quietly, a his earnest expression softening. His eyes locked onto hers again and she nearly gasped at their intensity.

“And would you say that now the timing is right?” Felicity nearly whispered. The two of them seemed to be off in their own little world, oblivious to everyone else around them.

“I hope so,” he said hesitantly. “Felicity, I don’t know about you, but… I still remember that day in the library. Every once in a while that memory will randomly cross my mind and I’ll wonder what ever happened to you. Also - and I can’t believe I’m telling you this - but I was actually really sad when you graduated early.”

Felicity couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “What?”

Oliver rushed to explain. “Don’t get me wrong, I was really proud of you for following your dream and getting into the school you wanted, but…I was actually trying to work up the nerve to maybe ask you on a coffee date or something.”

Felicity was shocked. Never, ever, had she thought she would be having this conversation. “Wait… you were… interested… in me? Seriously? You do remember what I was like in high school, right? You were miles, no, light-years out of my league. You were the hot, popular guy who was actually really cool to be around. Nearly all the girls wanted you, and the guys either wanted to be you or at least around you by association. You were practically the king of the school. Not that that was a bad thing! But you were the Oliver Queen. I was… someone who wasn’t on anybody’s radar. Although that was in some part my own doing. I never even really entertained the thought of you noticing me, even after the library.”

Oliver placed his hand on top of hers where it rested on the top of the bar. “Did you really think I wouldn’t go for you? Felicity, I thought you were really pretty in high school.”

A tiny smirk emerged on Felicity’s face, and her voice took on a teasing tone. “Not beautiful?”

“I wasn’t mature enough for words like ‘beautiful’. All I knew was that you were smart, and nice, and that you had lips that I wanted to bite. And that you had the bluest eyes I had ever seen.” His soft smile nearly made her melt. 

Felicity smiled at that, a slight blush emerging in her cheeks. But she didn’t look away from his eyes.

“Oliver, I may have had a crush on you, but we never would have worked in high school.”

“Why not?”

She paused, trying to find the words that would explain just what she had gone through. 

“High school wasn’t the best time for me. Back then, I had some major body image issues. I didn’t like how I felt in my body. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw things I hated or wanted to change. I definitely didn’t have the self-esteem and confidence that I have today. And I knew that. Even then, I knew that the way I saw myself wasn’t a positive way, and I knew I needed to change that.”

“Were you able to?”

“Yeah. College really opened my eyes. I found myself doing more, being around more people, not closing myself off from everyone. Once I was able to sort of find myself, the rest began to fall into place. I learned to be me, and to love myself, and my curves. And I needed to do that before I could try to love someone else.”

Oliver just looked at her, in awe of the woman she had become. “Felicity, you are absolutely remarkable.”

She smiled softly. “Thank you for remarking on it. And, for what it’s worth… If I had been more confident back then, had you asked me out… I would have said yes.”

“…Would you say yes now?”

“Depends on the question.”

Oliver took a breath, as though readying himself. “Felicity, would you like to go to dinner with me?”

Externally, Felicity grinned. Internally, she was doing a happy dance. Looking at Oliver, who was waiting for her answer, she had a sudden thought.

Oh, fuck it.

The two of them had been standing less than a foot from each other. Felicity closed that distance and pressed her lips to Oliver’s surprising the hell out of both of them at her spontaneous move. Just as she was pulling back, she felt Oliver’s hand reach around her waist and pull her toward him again. Their kiss continued, leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world. Felicity was only sorry they hadn’t done this sooner. Boy could kiss.

Oliver pulled back just slightly, lips still brushing against hers. “I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a yes, okay?” he whispered.

“If it works for you, go with it,” Felicity whispered back. Then she leaned in for another kiss.

Tonight had definitely been worth celebrating.


End file.
